Community Assessment Tools

5. Seasonal Calendar
This activity reveals changes in seasonal labor supply and
demand, household income patterns, food availability, and
demands on public resources, such as schools, mass transit
systems, and recreational facilities.
In this facilitated activity, a group of community members is
divided into smaller groups based on age, gender, or profession.
A facilitator asks each group to identify different tasks
members must do at different times of the year (related to
paid and unpaid work, social events, educational activities,
family health, and environmental changes) and plot them on
a timeline, which they then share with the other groups. The
facilitator leads a discussion in which participants examine
the differences.
These results can be used to determine the best times of the
year to begin certain projects and to consider how projects
will affect different groups of people.
Seasonal calendar session plan
This session plan for conducting a seasonal calendar activity can
be adapted to fit your club’s specific needs.
Objective
Identify a community’s yearly patterns of labor, household
income and expenditures, health and welfare, and recreation.
Time
2 hours
Preparation
Select a meeting place and time that are convenient for
members of your community. Invite 20 to 30 people to
participate.
Create a sample seasonal calendar, and prepare handouts for
each participant.
Materials
• Large sheets of flip-chart paper or poster-size
newsprint
• Blank sheets of paper for each participant
• Handouts of sample seasonal calendars
• Pens or pencils
• Markers in a variety of colors
• Tape
Procedures
1. Introduce yourself and explain the purpose of your
assessment. (5 minutes)
2. Divide participants into groups of four to six, and
distribute several sheets of flip-chart paper and
markers to each group.
3. Ask groups to draw a timeline starting from the
month they consider the beginning of the year, with
each month labeled along the top of the timeline.
(10 minutes)
4. Ask groups to use different-colored markers to indicate
when different seasons begin. For example,
the rainy season might be marked in green, the dry
season in yellow, and the storm season in black.
(15 minutes)
5. Ask each group to mark activities that take place
throughout the year. For example, they might indicate
when local schools are in session, major holidays
occur, crops are being planted or harvested, the most
food is available, people tend to fall ill. Encourage
them to include as many major activities they can
think of. (15 minutes)
6. Ask groups to use different symbols to indicate who
performs each activity and the level of activity involved.
For example, a dotted line might indicate an
activity that requires little work, a thin line a moderate
level of work, and a thick line an intense level of
work. (15 minutes)
7. Ask groups to look at the patterns and discuss the
following questions: (15 minutes)
• Are some times of the year busier than others?
• Are there times of the year when certain people
are busier than others?
• Are there times of the year when people are
vulnerable to environmental changes (e.g.,
extreme temperatures, drought, flooding,
patterns of infectious disease)?
• What are the most important times of the
year in the community (e.g., public holidays,
festivals, labor cycles)?
8. Have a representative from each group present its
calendar to the whole group, and facilitate a discussion
of the similarities and differences. (15 minutes)
Variation
Divide participants by age or gender to reveal age- and
gender-based differences in people’s seasonal routines.
6 Community Assessment Tools